[nkhd1]

ONe hive took it hard in the winter. I did not have the excluder in place and the bees ended up in the super. They built back up and filled the super so I added a deep below it. They are drawing comb in the bottom.
Should I swap the two boxes? Will that speed up the filling of the deep.
Or should I use Bee quick to push the queen down and then place the excluder in between?

What do you think?

 

[RayMarler]

Sorry, double post somehow

 

[RayMarler]

First you put a box on bottom, must have been thinking they'd build down better than up. Now you thinking about switching it... because... ??? You now think they'll build up better than down? Why not leave them alone since they seem to already be building down just fine as nectar flows are coming in? Building up or building down is an old discussion, but it's moot point since yours are already building wax as it is, why interrupt them at the work they are already doing by switching boxes now? I say just leave them for awhile. As they get more full, I might add another super or brood box in between the two boxes you now have.

 

[Naturegoods]

I don't get it, what happened to the one or two deeps that were under 'the super' from last year? Or are you now three deeps and a shallow?

 

[ccar2000]

Wouldn't you run the risk of dividing the brood nest at this point? The bottom box would contain the top half of the brood nest with space between it and the now relocated former top half of the brood nest.

 

[EastSideBuzz]

Everything I have read and been told is let the bees figure it out and don't swap boxes.

 

[ccar2000]

Right.

 

[RayMarler]

Wait until it's mostly honey with some sealed brood in the top super with lots of bees in the hive with queen and brood in the bottom. In that condition, it should be strong and could do it. I did it here a couple weeks ago, but then weather turned off cooler, which might be to my disadvantage, but hive was strong enough in bees to cover in all boxes and weather was good that day so I did it.

 

[nkhd1]

Thanks for the input.
I will let them be..

 

[nkhd1]

As for how they came to be in a super.
Their numbers were dwindling and they were being robbed when I was feeding. The deeps empty and there were not enough bees to defend the hive - so i removed the deeps to concentrate the bees.
Right wrong or indifferent they made it through and are building. I guess some times you get lucky. I believe the hive swarmed a few times last year which helped lower their numbers as well as little rain towards the end of the year.

 

[StevenG]

I agree, leave them alone for now. But when they replace brood with nectar and honey in the super, I'd add another deep between the bottom deep and the super of (now) honey. that will get them back into the configuration it seems you started with last year.

 

[RayMarler]

As for how they came to be in a super.
Their numbers were dwindling and they were being robbed when I was feeding. The deeps empty and there were not enough bees to defend the hive - so i removed the deeps to concentrate the bees...

That's good, or at least, that's what I would have done. You can also help by adding an entrance reducer and robbing screen on weaker hives, especially when feeding, if robbing is in the air. I find that it's easier at times to feed the stronger hives heavy to let them store of frames of nectar that I can then give to the weaker hives. Helps keep the weaker hives from being robbed out in a dearth from feeding them.

 

[Malcolm]

March 21, 2009 I switched brood boxes on 5 of my hives because the cluster stayed in the top after winter. All 5 queens reacted by moving the brood or stopped laying altogether and I lost all 5 queens and all 5 hives this winter. I will never switch brood boxes again. I just checked my stongest hive which came out of this winter in the top box, and she has moved down and has great brood on 4 frames. YES QUEENS WILL MOVE DOWN!! Keep checking to see what she is doing. Remember that what you read may not work for where you live at the same time of year. Good luck.